DELIVERY boys and girls are to lose their jobs because newspapers are now considered too heavy for them to cope with.

Twelve children at the United Co-op Village Stores in Church Street, Kelsall, will be made redundant in September after being told there are health and safety issues regarding the weight of newspapers.

The move has been criticised by the Rev Ian Enticott, 48, vicar of St Phillip's Church in Kelsall, whose daughter Mairi, 13, is one of those who will lose her job.

He said: 'She's quite disappointed because it's a source of income for her and it's her first job.

'Mairi took over the job on the week of her birthday in July, after her sister Shona stopped.

'I think it's a shame. It gives the children an opportunity to take responsibility, they have to be disciplined and it gives them an extra income.

'It's vital in the community as well, older people can't get out every day, they rely on the deliveries.'

Some confusion was caused in Kelsall by a Co-op-headed letter sent to customers which gave another reason for the cancellations.

It read: 'We regret to inform you we can no longer provide a reliable service delivering newspapers to your home, which is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue, therefore we have no alternative but to stop our delivered newspaper rounds.'

Further confusion was caused when the youngsters were given a note saying it was now too dangerous for them to be out delivering newspapers on their own.

But a spokesman for the Co-operative said: 'We very much regret any misunderstanding or concern that has arisen from this letter, which was written by a member of staff with the best of intentions but without the appropriate authority.

'There is a health and safety issue regarding the weight of newspapers, particularly at weekends, which has contributed to our reluctant decision to stop our newspaper delivery service.

'The Co-operative is committed to providing high standards of service and we are of the view that we cannot provide the consistency of service for newspaper deliveries at Kelsall which we would wish for our customers.

'We do apologise to our customers for any inconvenience this may cause.

'We would also like to publicly thank the paper boys and girls for all their hard work in the past.'

YOUR Say

Do you newspapers are now too heavy to be delivered door to door by teenagers? Telephone: 01244 606424/5 Fax: 01244 606498 E-mail: newsroom@cheshirenews.co.uk